An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Malthus

Explanatory Critical Paper

Philosophy Department

Joshua Caesar O. Elegado, II BA Philosophy

INTRODUCTION

As far as the human progress is concerned, we now question to what extent the collective human happiness can race in a long run. We realize that, the progress is continuous, happiness is continuous, the acceleration for human progress was tremendously unpredictable, and so as the entire humanity is. Looking back at the past, the history, we basically see that, humans back then were striving for a future where they secure happiness, perfectibility, and stability to begin with. With such, they are very much present oriented in order for striving to their future endeavors. The people from the past has only a goal to be developed, but also comes the time where such goal has been granted. Now, we realize that development is not a goal for this instance. Should they be stable, be stagnant or to regress? Should there be a mechanism to be able to for a continuous progress? If there could be a continuous progress, to what extent? Should there be limitation? Preventive measures? Individuation or for the betterment of the humanity? When talking about the humanity, we basically see the such as population. Population is basically the number of people living in a certain place. Population is important because it tells about an information. Information to which the checks and balance of people are to be observed. Controlled in a way where people can administer to adequate resources for sustenance. Because aside from striving happiness, people need sustenance to begin with. Without sustenance to begin with, to strive for a future is far dead to be imagined.

Thomas Malthus thought that, humanity should always be kept on check, that is in order to achieve the balance betwixt sustenance and population. To define, in determining the amount of human individuals living in a certain place, the checking of such is fairly needed. The balancing of both sustenance and people should be kept in check, because, human needs are something that is important, it is important because humans can not live without foods or sustenance. Humans always seek food, it is undeniably a sustenance for humans to survive on a daily basis. It is nature, in whatever the social status of any human beings, they can not but to find sustenance in order for them to keep going in whatever endeavors they may aim. In the first point, in population, there are humans and at the same time sustenance, second is that, growth of population is inevitable due to the necessity of sex. We generally know that human reproduction is an essential role of every human being. Yet, we question, on to what extent do we reproduce even if the sustenance is low to sustain ones life and of the many?. Thomas Malthus thought that this kind of progress may come in expense to some price, such as resource depletion and over population. This was thoroughly observed due because of the human progress Malthus thought has some consequences when continued for a long period of time. Example of this is, how selected a plant or animal is for us to consume for sustenance. Another is that, after a succession of people reproducing after reproducing, over population is a threat to humanity, shortages may occur.

MAJOR IDEAS

Thomas Malthus pointed out that food is necessary. Food is something that feeds people. Food is basically a sustenance to where it provides nutrition to every human person there is. Food may come as luxury to some, depending on the status of living of a certain individual. To the rich, food becomes second priority, due because of their capacities to actually have food in an instant, and therefor becomes powerful when it comes to such. Some rich people do not focus of the food, also because they strive for monetary value as a sustenance over a food. Although a necessity, they take it as a thing to be there with their snap of their fingers, meaning, they can get food in an instant. Having a food to eat is a fundamental human rights, wherein everyone deserves clean food, and water. Basically, this right is the advocacy to where no human person in this earth should starve. However, we realize that not everyone is as rich and as powerful to some who has the capability to have food in an instant. We see that, there are people who are actually has little to none access to food. To take a look to some realities, in Haiti, part of Africa, we see that, their nation is beyond poverty, they eat cookies made of out dust and dirt due to the lack of food/sustenance/money that is accessible to their area. They have settled on to filling up their stomachs with whatever, sacrificing their health just to fill their stomachs with something that is not considered as a food. We see that, poverty is the cause of hunger. The point here is about food, its accessibility, its unfair distribution. In Malthus perspective, even if there is unequal distribution to foods, time will come that resource shortage will occur due to the consumers being skyrocketed in a long period of time. So therefore, unfair distribution of food is the issue, but the period of time will.

The growth of population comes to be, when people keeps reproducing uncontrollably. So when Malthus said about population must be kept checked, he refers to the people must control their reproduction, in order to maintain balance or to be in par with the sustenance. Malthus agreed that sex is a necessity of man, yet, he checks about the future. The future to where needs of the population will meet the adequate needs for each individual. We see that, reproduction is necessary, the act is also necessary, but when the reproduction is going to be at a higher rate, the spaces of the earth will soon becomes occupied by inhabitants as the effect of sexes. In the present state, we see that, in some parts of a certain places or countries, there are difference on the ratio of population in comparison to the other places. In rural areas, statistically, has more number of people living compared to the urban area which is less. We see that, there are also factors to where number of population is measured. In rural areas, access to education can be difficult, some of which lack the importance of family education to where it could be a guide to control their reproduction. Another factor is falsely mindset, to where, when they think that more children are to be produced and therefore beneficial in terms of man power. That is such a self oriented perspective, and not taking the regards of consequences to where it would actually be difficult to sustain their life due to the expenses they would throw just to sustain the needs of them. A family of more than ten children is hard to sustain due to the ten mouths to feed with the resources that could actually accommodate for only two. As we can see, the consequences of this was caused not by the food, but rather, the character of the people by which they reproduce a lot of babies and that babies will become children and will die because of starvation. This is the lesson or narrative to the people when they produce a lot of children will result to their immediate death because of starvation. This analogy would actually explain on how the number of population would act if there are less resources to actually sustain their needs. Because even if in an urban population has less people compared to the rural, there will come a time where the reproduction of people will outnumber the resources, struggle of order will commence unto them. Only time will tell. Historically, around 11,000 BC, population were in billions, after 2,000 years later, population were still in billions yet has grown for estimated twenty percent. There are factors, as well there is a growth, however, such growth was not that skyrocketing in a sense, due because of diseases has no cures, as well people dies in starvation. This entails to why the growth of population is slow. Yet, however slow that may be, the increasing gets higher and higher as time passes by resulting in civil catastrophe. These are some phenomenon to which human made problems impacted the population, this is without phenomenal intervention. Yet, Malthus sees this in his context where he lived in, a phenomenological angle, angle by which a certain context of poverty, because in terms of global context, population growth even of both poverty and rich countries, the growth is still existing and not reducing at any means. To tie it back, that people needs to be checked, this actually concerns about how to prevent babies in order to balance the food and people. Malthus says that, people should not have sex, people should abstain from sex, and promote late marriages in order to mitigate the population for multiplying.

To summarize the two main ideas, first; that food is necessary to the existence of man, and second; that the passion between the sexes is necessary and will remain nearly in its present state.

CRITIQUE

The issue about food as sustenance, we realize that in the past, the production of food is as difficult as growing santol tree from a seed. Why? Because the manpower is not that efficient and tools for farming was traditional. The efficiency of manpower in the establishment of food production is not that flourishing, less people in food production would be actually have less resources to be produced. If population would be growing, there would be an advantage, that is to be part of the food production workers to supply more resources for more people. The more people in charge for the production of food, the more food that will be able to be produced because of the increase of manpower. The tools and farming, in the past the farming was very difficult in terms of the food production. There was little to no tools for effective food production, the mechanism for farming back then was basically pure sweat and blood, the struggle of farming comes to be when man's physical strength is the tool for farming and harvesting. To critique, Malthus did not live where GMO, industrialization, tools, and many alternatives for effective farming are mitigating and existing. But even if he did not see the future, food will not cease to existence that easily, because food in nature also reproduce, we just have to have them produce even more to compensate the scarcity of foods. But how? Basically, there will come a time where humans will become innovative, that can have some ideas to where they will solve the problem of scarcity. Because people will react and has always have a solution to problems, because not all the time, people will stay on the path on traditional, but rather, people will innovate and will become fluid that can adapt to any situations there is. Take GMO for example, we now can multiply the production of foods in a laboratory, we can be called “gods” for creating foods and supplying foods four thousand times. From one apple, we can multiply it by ten thousands, safer than ever. That innovative discovery became a culture, and a reaction when scarcity has been seen as a possible threat, humans then became problem solver for the betterment of future. But when talking about the allocation for equal distribution of foods throughout the entire earth, it is an issue of the allocating body, such as the governing entity. Because reality check, the earth has provided foods for eleven billion people, and the population is about seven billion, theoretically speaking, the earth has provided more foods for the people yet there are people who still starve. To whose fault such may be? But to whoever’s fault that may be, such evil must be stopped, we should pressure the governing entity to give them the narrative that there is an inequality of distribution of food is occurring worldwide. With such, there should be an improvement and or a change, that is to have resources and sustenance everyone deserve. This also is the answer to where food as a human right will be justified. With selected classes of plants or animals are to be consumed, even if it is limited in terms of edibility, the number of foods we can produce can still provide for the entirety.

On the issue of reproduction, to where there is uncontrollably reproduction of babies and so when they grew up, they will also reproduce resulting to a multiplied number of population in two decades and so resulting to over population. Over population to where the number of sustenance can not cater for the people in the entirety. Also, when a certain area is over populated, not just the sustenance, but also the spaces must be checked. Spaces should be considered because it concern about the homes and accommodating entity for the basic group of the society, the family. From family, as a group also belong to a larger group, making population is. When a large number of people living and moving around in a certain area, the security of such might be compromised due its uncontrollably large amount of getting to manage of. The management issue comes to take place because of the skyrocketing number of people. What then is to solution to such issues and problems? Basically, it all rooted on the necessity of sex that resulted in reproduction, sex as an act, and its procreating essence to begin with. We agree on the preventive measures according to Malthus about abstaining from sex and promote late marriages. To examine the abstaining, abstaining is the most effective conception up to date, however, this also is the most difficult thing to do, because Malthus also said that sex is a necessity. This is a ridiculous statement of Malthus, a contradiction. Even if the prevention becomes a policy, the nature of human would still prevail and that is to have sex. To challenge this, what if sex becomes only as a necessity without the expense of its essence of reproduction. The giving of birth to people seems to be the root of all the issues about over population to begin with, Malthus has mentioned about the growth of population increases geometrically, which actually pertains to about radical pattern about population growth because of the practice of sexes. The challenge here is about how can we prevent the radical pattern from continuing and will result in over population? Basically, we go to the roots and make a solution out of it with new discoveries and innovation. Malthus did not live in a context where birth controls of any form has existed. So therefore, Malthus thought that, it would be impossible for the control of population to be administered. What falls then, that his prediction about the population can be false, only with such condition that humanity will find solution to eliminate the chance of having to give birth controllably. This then give birth to new discovery such as birth control methods or contraception. With this and by this, the use of such, is actually the solution to where the over population is rooted. So the chance of births can decline at a dramatically manner. Why? The necessity of sex still do exist, but the reproduction is now controlled. And with that, population control is basically now be observed. Another thing is that, there are policies that may be administered even if the birth control is not discovered to begin with, let us say that, the solution for the roots has not been discovered. So the emerge of policies about population control may took place. We take a look at some other context, say for example China's One Child Policy. Such policy is for family that must only have one child per married couple, and exceeding one child, may be given a penalization or criminalization order. Such policy is administered because China was in the verge of over population, that families in the population was uncontrollably governed, the spaces can not accommodate no longer the people and the food supply can not cater for everybody’s need. With such existing population crisis, the government must establish what limitations and mechanisms that are capable of controlling the society from growing to the extent of over populating. My hypothesis says that, birth controls are the first in line, second was about killing the about twenty percent of population, and lastly, about limiting the married couple's offspring to only one. They must choose the most ethical and is practicable. In their case, they have chosen the policy of one child. The alternatives and the argumentations will not end, in the vast world, there could be many alternatives that may be discovered in the future. Such discoveries are meant for the population to be checked, to maintain order, and to balance the growth of population and of sustenance provided that such innovations are grounded on the ethical terms without sacrificing humanity to begin with.

To summarize, Thomas Malthus was and will stay relevant when it comes to talk about population. The population was indeed growing, with such, human civilization might have come to an end. Malthus was not entirely wrong about population, reproduction of humans and of sustenance. However, we should always consider the possibilities for the betterment of all, because humans are intelligent, always growing but other than that, they react. We should not sacrifice the nature just to achieve an unpredictable standard. There are many ethical alternatives. The prediction of Malthus was not that fitting as we see in the present, there lot of people, seven billion, and the sustenance was more revolutionary compared to what was before. Humans evolve, and so as the world, there can not be static flow of population that will last for eternity, change however is permanent